Fire Queen

Chapter 31

"We understand, you should go upstairs" Ryu replied to him and waited for him to climb up.

She grabbed the pipe from both hands and let her fire heat the stone up enough that she can bend it.

"Ryu?" Zuko said pulling himself from the table,

"Aang" Ryu called out,

"Yeah?" he asked walking out and drying his hands with a rag,

"Please go upstairs, we got the rest"

Feeling the tension in the air Aang asked "Everything okay?"

"Yes," Zuko replied nodding at him to leave After Aangs got upstairs. Zuko asked "What?"

"First help me clean then we will talk" Ryu replied throwing the pipe in the dustbin.

Almost after an hour, they were down, all the tables were clean, the floors were mopped, and dishes were washed and dried.

"Sit," Ryu said pointing at the table by the window, She closed the lights and walked into the kitchen, as Zuko stared at the very alive market outside Ryu put two glasses and a bottle of whiskey on the table that was a gift to Uncle by his old army friends, Uncle never said no to Ryu or Zuko so it's probably okay Ryu thought.

"Do you think drinking is the right thing for you after the last time?" Zuko asked smiling as Ryu poured for both of them and took the seat right in front of him.

"I don't think I can say what I want to without it" Ryu replied raising the glass in the air "To our messed up marriage"

Zuko raised his in the air "To the hell, we call love"

"So, what do my beloved wife want to say that she has to get drunk first?" Zuko asked looking at Ryu drinking the whole glass in one go and filling it again.

"I feel like I can't talk to you" Ryu whispered looking at the glass in her hand.

Zuko leaned forward and took a sip from his glass "What are you talking about, here we are talking"

"No, I feel like most of our marriage I have been screaming at the top of my lungs begging you to listen, but you just stand there deaf-eared to my cries"

Zuko drank at the whiskey in his glass and took off the cap of the bottle and took two big sips from it trying to numb the pain those words did to him, as Ryu stared out of the window trying to escape the pain in his eyes.

"I am sorry, I am not the man everyone wants me to be"

Ryu closed her eyes and took a deep breath, "You are still not listening"

"What am I not listening to?" Zuko asked little scared, a little annoyed.

"You are the man I want to be with, that's why I am here, If you weren't I would have not spent years of my life following you to every corner of the world"

"I don't get it" Zuko opened his bun letting his hair that now almost come down to his shoulder down.

Ryu stood up and walked up to him, she sat on the chair next to him and ran her hand through his hair, Zuko let out a breath relaxing to her touch.

"I want you to listen to what I say, you are the king and a man of your own you don't need to agree or act on it, but please just let me feel heard, I should know that my king and husband have at least tried to understand my side of the story, at least considered what I am saying"

Zuko grabbed Ryu's hand that was still running through his hair and kissed it "I will listen"

"You said you will listen back at that balcony when I told you how you didn't even talk to me about setting our marriage and my crowning, but since then how many times have you listened?"

Zuko kissed her hand again "I know what it feels like to lose you, I know what not having you beside me does to me, I promise this time I will truly listen"

Ryu took a deep breath trying to gather the courage to hurt him more, "Zuko, why didn't you hear my no just now?"

"What no?" Zuko asked little confused.

"When you embraced me from behind, I plead with you to stop but you chose to ignore it" Zuko let go of Ryu's hand and pushed his chair a little back.

"Ryu what are you saying, I was not forcing anything on you and you know it" he replied defensively.

Ryu took the last sip from his glass and poured it again for him, she pushed the drink toward him but he stayed still waiting for her to continue.

"I know it use to be cute, I would blush and tell you to stop jokingly and you wouldn't but this time it was different, all I could remember at that moment was you on top of me on that bed, I begged you to stop but all my crying meant nothing to you, you ripped off my clothes and I never thought I would ever feel the fear that I felt that day"

A single tear escaped Zuko's right eye that he wiped away, and he finally took the drink.

"I can't forget it, sometimes I am busy doing something and it all comes back to me and I feel frozen like I can feel you breathing on my neck, I felt it again today"

"Ryu.." Zuko whispered but after that went back in silence looking at the floor finally facing the consequences of his actions so Ryu decided to continue.

She got up and sat next to him on the floor, she handed him the glass of whiskey and put her hands around his, and looked up at him, he turned his head so he doesn't have to face Ryu.

"I love you and I am not saying this out of anger to hurt or to disrespect you in any form, I...I just need you to hear of my pain" Zuko let out a sob, this might be the first she saw her king cry, to feel his hands in hers shake.

"Please listen to my pleads, I don't want to feel that fear again, I want to feel safe in your arms like I use to" Zuko closed his eyes letting tears run down his face, Ryu wiped them off and kissed his cheek, she put her head against his.

"I just don't want to feel that, please" letting tears run free

Zuko took her hands in his "I... I am so sorry Ryu"

"I promise I will listen" he kissed her head and wiped his tears but more kept on replacing them.

"I promise, I promise, I promise my love, you will never feel that again"

"Zuko" Ryu whispered kissing the side of his lips.

"I promise you will never see that monster I was again"

Ryu put her head in his lap.

"I promise I will do better" Zuko assured putting Ryu's long black hair behind her ear.

"I will make all the pain go away, I promise"